For everyone who has someone, congratulations. For everyone who doesn't, you have me! You are loved and appreciated by a stranger, and that's worth like 10 people who actually know you because they're obligated to.
Need
"I'm just saying, it seems counterintuitive," Severa objected as she stretched, water running down her bare arms.
The enclosed pool was quaint and traditional, warm water sending steam over the high wooden walls towards the cloudy sky. A rocking bamboo fountain quietly filled and emptied itself into the pool, Cynthia shuddering in delight as she held her foot just under the water as the fountain dispensed.
The bamboo thunked back onto the rock, and Cynthia returned her attention to the conversation. "I just think that people who lie usually care about what other people think about them. So if he was lying, I thought he'd try to make us believe him."
"So he truthfully didn't defend himself when we walked in on him with another woman? Is that better?"
"At least he's not a liar."
Severa rolled her eyes as the other girl lunged to intercept another bamboo fountain emptying into the pool. She closed her eyes, resting her head back against the rocks and thinking about how they would get through to Lucina, when Cynthia's exclamation made her jump.
"Gah! Come out, fiend!"
Several stared at Cynthia who was watching the long grass surrounding the fountain.
"Cynthia?"
"A deviant lays in wait to ambush us at our most vulnerable! A voyeur! A peeper!"
Severa instinctively ducked to cover herself, reaching for a towel and glared at the bush, coming behind Cynthia and resting a hand on her shoulder, looking around for more places someone could be hiding.
"This'll be worse for you if we have to drag you out," Severa called, making sure she was submerged up to her neck as she soaked the towel in her hand.
"This is one-hundred-percent not what it looks like," came the bush's explanation.
"There's a lot of that going around." Severa agreed sarcastically, "You just happen to fall into the women's baths?"
"Actually‒"
"And didn't say anything when we walked in?" Cynthia continued.
"You were naked!"
"So you were looking!" Cynthia bellowed accusingly, standing victoriously until Severa pulled her back into the water. "Come out, so we may find you guilty!"
"I… Can't do that."
"You've been caught and exposed for the high-crimes of peepery, you can at least have the decency to face your punishment!"
"I'm not a peeper! I didn't look after I saw you come in and I was waiting for you to leave before I came out because I didn't want this to get more awkward!"
"That's it." Severa used the towel to cover herself, standing in the pool and making towards the bushes.
"No, wait!" the voice called before Severa parted the stalks.
"Ew! Gaius! Why are you naked?!"
"I told you to wait!"
"Men are so gross!" Severa shouted, blushing furiously and turning from the bush. "Get out, just get out you sick, disgusting pig!"
"In all fairness, I was here first..." Gaius' meek reply hinted that he didn't want to leave the cover of the foliage. "And you're the only with a towel..."
"That I will use to rattail your naked body, if you make me come get you."
A moment of silent consideration was broken by the fountain reaching capacity and emptying into the pool.
"Could I… Get some clothes, or something?"
The towel hit the bushes with a wet slap and Gaius emerged after a second, hastily wrapping the soaked fabric around his waist as he scrambled for the building, crimson radiating from his face down to his neck.
"Were all the Shepherds just degenerates and no one told anyone?" Cynthia asked loudly, staring around the enclosure for any other potential hiding spots. "If anyone else is out there, come out now!"
Only the fountain answered, and Severa sank lower into the water. "This was supposed to be a relaxing break from everything, but it's just more of the same, and I blame Robin. No doubt all this was part of his plans."
"Why was he naked?" Cynthia pondered aloud, staring after Gaius. "This is all way too tropey to be as simple as Robin having multiple women or Gaius being a sneaky… Er..."
"Yeah, that sounds exactly like both of them." Severa shook her head. "I'm with Gerome. Meeting the Shepherds was a bad idea."
"I'm sure there's more to it than that…" Cynthia commented optimistically. "Let's wait to hear Lucina's take. She's known them the longest."
"Lucina doesn't have any idea what she's doing," Severa sighed, covering her face and leaning her head back against the flat stones lining the pool. That was the frustrating part about all of this. Their leader, who'd guided them through hell and back, the infuriatingly righteous paragon of duty and conviction, was almost unrecognizable. Robin hadn't just shaken her mission, he'd turned her into someone new entirely.
Cynthia drew beside her, her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Neither do we…"
Robin pushed the hanging cloth aside, glancing around the enclosure. This one was spacious, with trees growing along the sides and large rocks dotting the steamy pool. The clouds of moisture parted revealing one flaw of the scenery. A man nearly twice his size in muscle mass, sprawled wide at the far end of the pool, waterline barely covering the necessities.
"Yo," Vaike called, raising a hand.
Robin let out a sigh, removing his towel and grabbing a bucket by the entrance.
"Thought you got lost. What happened?"
"Long story."
"I got time," Vaike assured, before tilting his head as Robin filled the bucket with pool water. "What're you doing?"
"Washing myself," Robin explained, taking the bucket back to the side of the enclosure where stools were lined, and dousing himself.
"You're a weird guy, Robin."
"I don't‒ this is how you do it here."
"They take showers before their baths?"
"It's not technically a bath, it's a pool. You need to be clean before going into the pool. It's a courtesy thing."
"I don't mind," Vaike dismissed, waving his hand, "I was pretty dirty before I got in so it won't bother me."
"Your consideration is appreciated," Robin replied, eyeing the water.
"So what took you? You seem way more bummed now than before," Vaike noted, scooting aside and tapping the water beside him as though it were a couch. Robin moved to the far end of the pool and stepped in.
"I'm considerably more bummed now than before."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
A sliding door behind Robin slammed and pattering feet preceded Gaius running into the enclosure, red face decorated by leaves and scratches. He stared around, seeing he was in the correct bath, and cleared his throat, leaning nonchalantly on a beam supporting the overhang.
"'Sup."
"Think you got something backwards," Robin commented, noting the dry body and towel dripping with water.
"Yeah, so, what're we talking about?" Gaius asked, tossing the towel aside and entering the pool.
Robin opened his mouth with a frown before Vaike spoke. "Robin's telling us what's worrying him."
"I am not doing that."
"What's worrying you bud?" Gaius asked, eager to shift focus.
"You know what I'd really like? Just to catch up with you two. Tell me everything that's happened on the front since I've been gone."
Vaike and Gaius shared an unabating grin.
Lucina stepped out from under the overhang, looking around the pool and taking a deep sigh. Rain was falling gently through the steam, and her friends called to her from the pool.
"There you are! Come in, it's cold out there," Cynthia invited. "We saw‒!"
"We saw a pervert," Severa interrupted, watching as Lucina took a bucket and filled it with water before moving to the stools along the side of the pool.
"A pervert?" Lucina repeated, setting aside her towel and taking a seat beside the bucket.
"Yeah, what do you think about that? Men who sneak into women's baths to see them naked?"
"What do I think about it?" Lucina asked, beginning to wash herself.
"Yes Lucina, what do you think about it?" Severa drawled slowly. "They're the worst, right?"
"It would depend on the man, I suppose. If it were someone I trusted I would probably believe their explanation of the situation. I couldn't see Gerome sneaking into the baths intentionally."
"Because Gerome would never do that!" Severa objected, temper flaring. Lucina looked at her. "Y-yeah, okay so people can see it differently, but that doesn't change the person who's doing it. They knew what they were doing."
"You just asked what I thought about it."
"Well now I want you to agree with me, that men who do that are terrible people!"
Lucina tilted her head, and looked to Cynthia.
"Gaius was in the baths when we got here."
Lucina raised her eyebrows in comprehension and resumed bathing herself. It was strange, after being away for so long she'd snapped back into the elder-sister role, as though it were only yesterday she and her friends were huddled around a campfire for warmth. Curbing Cynthia's eccentrism, abating Severa's tantrums, like nothing had changed.
Except that everything had.
"Hey… You okay, sis?"
Lucina looked to see Cynthia watching her in concern, and smiled. "Just thinking."
"Wanna talk about… Y'know…?"
"Robin cheating on you?"
"Severa!"
Lucina finished and closed her eyes as she poured the bucket over her head. She wiped the water from her face and looked over to see Cynthia and Severa watching her expectantly.
"But yeah, that."
She stood with a sigh and made her way over to the pool, testing the temperature with her foot before slipping into the hot water. "I will probably believe his explanation of the situation."
"Uugh, Lucina, are you serious!" Severa asked as Cynthia stared in disbelief. "I feel like I'm talking to a teenage girl about her scumbag first boyfriend."
"You don't know him," Lucina reminded her calmly.
"And that's exactly what she'd say!" Severa continued, "We hear all these bad things about him, and then see him doing something bad, are you really going to be this dumb?"
"I think I know him a little better than… The people who relayed stories about him to us did."
"You're… actually really calm about this whole thing," Cynthia observed, watching Lucina sink to rest her chin on the waterline. "You're not bothered by Tharja's moving in on your boyfriend?"
Lucina sputtered as she slipped too low into the water. "H-he's not boyfriend, Cynthia."
"You're just going to have his babies."
Lucina's face turned the reddest anyone of them had ever seen as her draw dropped, too stunned to speak.
"That's not a no‒!" Cynthia squealed as Lucina splashed her.
"That has nothing to do with you!'" Lucina rose to chase Cynthia towards the wall of the enclosure where the pool ended, faux-angry for appearances sake, but privately happy to be with her friends again. Teasing one another, talking about the unserious with full stomachs and a restful night's sleep, rather than rationing what they had or deciding if the group had grown too large… It was like sharing a dream. The impending battle felt more familiar.
"So it has something to do with you?" Severa huffed, eyebrows raised.
The other girls looked back at her and Severa drew her knees up to her chest, looking away. "After what happened between you and Gerome… 'My personal life is my sacrifice to the world, between leading and our mission I can't continue a romantic entanglement,' or whatever. I didn't think you'd be so quick to 180 on that."
"Gerome told you about that…"
"Of course he did, I was there for him every day you weren't!" Severa snapped, scowling at her. "I listened to him pine over you, every day, like you were some divine goddess, beating himself up over letting you go, wishing he'd done things differently…" Severa looked her up and down. "And here you are. Gerome-who?"
Lucina looked down as Cynthia backed towards the wall, sinking lower into the water.
"Well whatever, so long as Lucina gets her happy ending, right?" Severa dismissed, and Lucina glared at her.
"I didn't choose this, but I'm not going to apologize for being happy for the first time in my life."
"Because you have no shame."
"Because being cynical doesn't make you special. It just makes you cynical."
"H-hey, umm…" Cynthia called their attention over to a spot at the wall. "S-so this is ah… A thing?"
Lucina's and Severa's heads swiveled to her and she put a hand on the wall while pointing at them.
"You can only come over here if you leave your attitudes over there! This," she ran her hand over the water, "Is the 'no shouting' part of the pool, okay?"
Severa rolled her eyes and turned back to Lucina, ready to continue, but the older girl was already making her way towards the far end of the pool. She sniffed and followed.
"Okay so before you say anything, I wasn't looking for this! I was trying to pretend like I wasn't here, so I was looking around while you were talking and then suddenly felt this weird wind and heard something so I looked and‒"
"Would you move?" Severa demanded irritably, forcing Cynthia's hand off the wall and the three stared at the large crack between two boards in silence. Easily wide enough to peer through, and the masculine voices on the other side hinted at its purpose.
Without a word they each knelt into the water, sinking up to their necks.
"A man built this wall."
"O-obviously."
"It might as well be framed…"
"Is there… I mean did you…" Severa asked, glancing to the hole as she moved to the side of the wall.
Cynthia tilted her head. "I mean there are some voices, but I couldn't really make out‒"
"‒ucina."
The muffled syllables were distinct enough not to be confused with any other word, and the three went silent to hear more. More deep voices preceded the three girls quickly pressing against the wall, huddled around the hole to listen closely.
"Then we made it to the safehouse, you guys came, and you're caught up," Robin finished telling the story he didn't want to start. He'd kept it abridged, and Vaike had still dozed off.
Vaike nodded awake as Gaius whistled. "I thought we had an adventure."
"So, what's the secret plan?" Vaike asked, wiping drool as he sat straighter, "To win the big battle?"
"You asked for the story and didn't even listen to it."
"I listened to the important bits!"
"Name one."
Vaike pursed his lips in thought. "Lucina has a smokin' body."
"I didn't… Say that. Once."
"You don't think she does?"
"Of course I think she does."
"See, I was listening between the lines."
Robin narrowed his eyes, and turned his attention to Gaius. "So I thought today would be a good time for a mental break. Take a step back and think about the battle with a fresh perspective. Then Tharja ambushed me in the changing room."
Vaike guffawed as Gaius chuckled, "Well she didn't hop the fence, so…" he frowned. "How'd she get in?"
"Teleportation." Robin ran a hand over his face, wiping sweat or moisture away, and shared a look with them, "Yeah, like the reports of Walhart's army. It looked exactly like the descriptions."
"Where'd she learn‒ why the hell did we walk all this way?" Vaike exclaimed angrily. "We were on the road for weeks!"
"Because she learned it an hour ago."
"Okay I don't know much about magic, but doesn't that stuff take like… A while, to learn?"
"One or two whiles, yes. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how she took a theoretical and perfected it..."
"Well that's good, right? This is a huge boon for us!" Vaike declared, grinning at Gaius.
"If we can use it in the upcoming battle, that opens up some options for us… But something's telling me it isn't so simple," Gaius added, noticing Robin's expression.
"Yeah, because I don't know how to do it."
"But Tharja knows…" Gaius caught Robin's expression, and understood. "...Ah."
"Why what happened?" Vaike asked, looking between them.
"Nothing happened! She got handsy and I tried to leave, when Lucina and her friends showed up. I don't even know why they were here today, but now I have to beg for forgiveness for something I didn't do…"
"Forgiveness…?" Gaius mouthed at Vaike, who shrugged. He turned back to Robin, "Anyway, why'd Tharja attack you in the changing room?"
"She wants a… What do they say in Valm? A quid pro quo?"
"What is that, something you eat?" Vaike asked seriously.
"Could be." Gaius nodded, grinning at Robin, "Is it?"
"Not funny."
"It's a little funny."
"What does she want? Plain-speak, please," Vaike reminded them of his presence.
"Can we guess first?" Gaius asked playfully, and Robin scowled at him. "Does she want a ballad?"
"No."
"Ooh oh, I like this game, does she want you to put a ring on it?" Vaike contributed.
"No, she‒"
"I give up, can you just tell us already?" Vaike interrupted, rolling his eyes.
"She… Tharja," Robin cleared his throat, uncharacteristically uncomfortable, "Wants a child."
"What? Why?" Vaike shook his head in disbelief, "Where do you even find a child?"
Robin and Gauis looked at him.
"Oh… Oh! Oh that's‒" Vaike suddenly couldn't stop laughing, "Congratulations Robin!"
"Super not funny," Robin reminded them, unamused.
"Super a little funny! How does this guy luck into these situations?!" Vaike chuckled, slapping his shoulder and looking to Gaius.
"I must not be seeing the full picture here, because if you asked any other guy in the Shepherds, that deal wouldn't be on the table for more than a second. Assuming, ah," Gaius coughed, "You two weren't married."
"We're not‒!" Robin rose, done.
"Hold up, hold up," Vaike beckoned him back down, wiping his eye, "For real, what's the problem. You don't even have to like her to appreciate that body. It's not like you have any other commitments."
"I don't have any other commitments so I should have a child," Robin rephrased.
"Romantic commitments!" Vaike clarified, waiting for the admittance that never came. Robin closed his mouth, averting his gaze. The other men's eyes widened as two and two were put together, and Vaike roared with renewed vigor. "This just gets better and better!"
"Wow… Lucina?!" Gaius chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief, "Your best friend's daughter- Lucina?"
"I know!" Robin rolled his hand, get on with it.
"Lucina-Lucina? Sexy mane of hair, perfect ass, thighs you could just-" Vaike howled before Robin suckered him in the ribs.
"Don't talk about her like that," he warned, and Vaike held up his hands in fault.
"Does Chrom know?" Vaike asked, still grinning as he rubbed his side.
"How would he," Gaius answered. "Does she know?"
"I… Yeah? I think so..."
"She either does or she doesn't."
"Yes, she knows." Robin answered definitely, looking at him, then away. "Maybe."
Vaike rolled his eyes. "Have you told her?"
"Not‒… We've talked around it. She knows."
"Knows you wanna bed her," Vaike made clear, looking at him seriously.
"Wh‒ no! That I care about her, and would do anything to protect her, and want a future with her."
"Bro those are things you say to me," Vaike rolled his eyes. "What's the difference between a friend and a lover? Lovers make love! So don't beat around the bush, get little-R some capital-L!" Vaike chuckled at Gaius, "See what I did there?"
"Do you ever regret knowing someone?" Robin directed at Gaius but the younger man shrugged.
"So you don't want to bed her?"
"There's more to it than that!"
"So you do want to bed her?"
"Of course I‒!" Robin stopped, calming himself and looking around. The fountain emptied itself quietly into the pool. "Not that it's any of your business, but since we're talking plainly about things anybody can see, Lucina is the most beautiful woman in any Kingdom, Halidom or land under the sun, anywhere. She's smart, and charming, and honest, and when she gets embarrassed she gets the cutest blush. And yeah she makes mistakes, sometimes, but she always does better, and tries to be better every day. She inspires me to be more than I am, to be someone who deserves her. She's the best damn thing that's ever happened to me, and I want to share the rest of my life with her!"
Robin was standing now, panting as the water slid off his body. Gaius and Vaike stared at him.
"So you do want to bed her."
Cynthia turned away from the wall as the sounds of splashing came from the other side. If she thought she was blushing from second-hand embarrassment at hearing such a heartfelt indirect-confession, the absolute crimson face beside her taught her new meaning for the word.
"So ah… I guess there was a reason for Tharja's appearance," Cynthia broke their silence, and Severa rolled her eyes.
"He could just be spreading his story to more people until he himself believes it," Severa replied, sounding unconvinced by her own suggestion. She cleared her throat as she turned towards the hole. "Even if he is crazy about you."
"I had no idea he was so passionate! The stories never mentioned anything about this side of him," Cynthia mused thoughtfully, watching Lucina with interest. "Is this the 'real' Robin you've been talking about?"
Lucina didn't look at her, still beet-red.
"Aw, he's right! You do have the cutest blush!"
"I-I think we've eavesdropped enough‒" Lucina began, holding herself and turning towards the main pool.
"Holy Naga, Vaike has a body," Severa muttered, eye glued to the hole in the wall.
"Everybody has a body," Cynthia reminded her, cocking her head until Severa shook her head, reaching for her without looking.
"Not like this, look! I think his pecs have abs!"
"I can't look, you're in the way!" Cynthia complained, pushing at her shoulder.
"Well wait your turn!"
"Stop hogging the eye-candy-hole!"
Lucina's grip on her arms tightened. Hearing just how deeply Robin felt for her only made her decision more difficult. He would go to hell and back for her, she was his motivation for all this now. How could she cast aside her own feelings, upon hearing his so genuine?
Cynthia goosed Severa, making the girl jump before Cynthia shouldered in to press her face to the wood. Lucina returned her attention to them.
"Isn't this a little backwards...?" she asked. Perhaps it wasn't a man who made the hole...
"Wow."
Lucina looked to the sky, shaking her head.
"I mean yeah, Vaike's big, but there's a bit too-muchness there. Like, between borderline-gross and gross."
"So just gross, then." Lucina surmised, sighing.
"And Gaius is lean, but like too lean? Skinny, I guess is the best word for it. You wanna see?"
"Aren't you doing the exact thing you accused him of?"
"Yeah, so he owes us," Severa justified, folding her arms smugly. "He did it first."
"And Vaike?"
"Vaike's a pig who would do the same if he found the hole."
Lucina shook her head at the hypocrisy and made to move back towards the main pool when Cynthia whistled quietly.
"But Robin… Now that's just right. Great shoulders, good chest and core! But not freakish like Vaike, or string-bean like Gaius. What are you feeding him?"
"N-nothing!"
"And wow at that definition! You could wash your armor on those‒ Hey!"
"Don't look at him while he's bathing!" Lucina scolded, covering the hole with her hand as she pulled the younger girl away.
"He was sitting down! Mostly!" A coy smile spread Cynthia's features at Lucina's expression. "Wanna see the whole package you're getting, before making any final commitments?"
"That doesn't matter!" Lucina objected, faded blush returning. "W-why?"
"Nothing! I just thought you might wanna… whet your appetite."
"Cynthia!"
"I'm actually a bit jealous…"
"She could just be making all this up, you had better check for yourself," Severa prompted, nodding towards the hole.
Lucina opened her mouth, staring at the crack in the wood before coming to her senses. "Don't be absurd. And you turned your opinion around quickly!"
"Yeah well that was… Actually a pretty okay confession," Severa admitted, looking away. "I guess there are worse guys you could end up with."
"Severa has admitted she's wrong, and Lucina has fallen in love with the bad guy. I feel like I'm missing a plot-twist in my own life," Cynthia sighed before turning to Lucina. "So when's the wedding?"
"I think I preferred it when you didn't approve of him."
"But now we can tease you instead of having an intervention, isn't that better?"
"For whom?"
"Us!" Cynthia chirped happily, prying at Lucina's fingers. "Now lemme see your boyfriend naked so I can describe it to you."
"No!"
"Yes!"
Robin glanced over at the sound of splashing from the other side of the barricade between them and the other baths.
"Oh what I wouldn't give to be that bathwater…" Vaike muttered, staring dreamily at the wall.
"That could be a bunch of sweaty dudes," Gaius reminded him, but Vaike shook his head.
"No way, can't you hear it? The playful splashing, water drops hitting beautiful soft-girl-skin, nervous giggles as they get more comfortable with each other, admiring each other's bodies, before splashing becomes touching, and caressing… Unable to resist it, they start a chest-measuring contest-!"
"Why?" Gaius interrupted, frowning.
"Because girls are mysterious and curious creatures‒!"
"No, I mean why are you like this?"
"What? It's natural!"
"Do you admire my body?" Gaius asked seriously. "Or have to resist touching or caressing me?"
"No!"
"Then why would women?"
"Because guys don't, and guys aren't girls," Vaike explained slowly, as though it were obvious. He shook his head, looking to Robin for confirmation, "Back me up."
"Yeah no, I don't know what that sounds like. Nor would I be bathwater," Robin replied, looking down to his submerged hands. The pools had done little to soothe them. He sighed, standing.
"Where are you going?" Gaius asked, looking up at him.
"More importantly, what are you gonna do about Tharja?" Vaike reminded him, looking up at him hopefully.
"I don't know," Robin answered truthfully, noticing how quiet the atmosphere had gotten. He hated dramatic pauses. Even the pool beside them had gone silent as if to hear his answer. "I need to think, and you two aren't helping with ideas."
Vaike raised his hand immediately, splashing Gaius.
"I'm gonna skip ahead and say 'no,'" Robin precluded.
"Wait, hear me out. So you tell her you'll be in your room at midnight, right? Snuff all the candles so it's completely dark, then have one of your friends, me for example, waiting instead‒"
"And that's how Vaike won 'Let's go to prison,' in a single move," Gaius interrupted, shaking his head.
"What, why?"
"Because she's not consenting to have sex with you," Robin explained slowly, frowning at Vaike's expression of incomprehension.
Vaike opened his mouth, then closed it. "Huh."
"You have problems, and we need to spend some time addressing your attitudes towards women," Gaius pointed at Vaike and turned back to Robin, "And you… somehow have more problems."
"No, we have a problem because an answer to this entire war hinges on something so unreasonable!"
"No, you have a problem because you're being unreasonable! So Tharja wants your baby, give it to her!"
Robin stared over Gaius' shoulder to see Vaike bite his lip, eyes clenched as he thrust his hips sans-partner. He closed his eyes, wishing he didn't have a perfect memory.
"I hate to sound like the jerk here, but I really don't wanna die because you couldn't nut up," Gaius spoke sternly, standing too. "If this new plan is going to save lives, especially mine or people I know? No one's asking you to give up an arm or a leg here."
"I would sooner lose both, than hurt Lucina like this," Robin stated, no trace of humor in his voice.
"Cry her a river and beg for forgiveness, and proclaim your infidelity before the halidom if the shame will make you feel better! If Lucina is half as reasonable as you seem to think she is, she'll probably give her permission! Does she want to see me die?"
"It's not about being forgiven, it's about not hurting the person you love!" Robin stated boldly, facing the younger man. He took a deep breath, "I love her, and I'm going to make the world better, for her."
"And she's the leader of the Itty-Bitty-Titty-Committee, dude think big!" Vaike broke his silence, groping exaggerated air. "Tharja has a rockin' bod and I've seen her look at you in ways starving men don't look at food. You could have the best of both!"
"I am not," Robin spoke slowly so the words might sink into Vaike's skull, "Impregnating Tharja."
"You banged… Bung? Bunged," Vaike looked at Gaius who frowned and nodded, "You bunged Tharja once before, what's the big deal? At least Lucina will know about it‒ and she already thinks you did it again! If you're going to beg forgiveness for something, you might as well do the thing you're being forgiven for."
"I realize I'm stating the obvious, but if I have to explain that, you've never been in love."
"You're selfish, you know that?" Gaius asked, moving to intercept Robin's exit. "Hey, look at me!"
Robin spun as Gaius grabbed his arm, but the younger man backed away.
"I want you to remember me, if something happens. Remember this conversation, my face, these triceps, all of it. I'm pretty much shitting myself in preparation for this upcoming battle, and I want you to remember you could have changed it."
Robin ran an aching hand over his face, water streaming down his chest. "That's not fair. You're not in my position."
"Uh, nor would I be. I'd be in bed with Tharja like any sane man."
"I'm not sane, I'm in love!"
"Then in the name of love, make a child with Tharja, then conceive with Lucina as many times as your selfish hearts lust for."
"I can't help but feel that if the genders of this situation were reversed, we'd be having a very different conversation."
Vaike cleared his throat, serious tone indicating he'd stopped making love to the air. They looked at him. "Real talk? Any one of these days could be our last. If you die in the upcoming battle… Well between the two, I think Lucina would prefer a flawed man than a dead one. This could be your last opportunity to breed with anyone."
"Stop saying synonyms for making children!" Robin burst, "No one is impregnating anyone!"
"No thanks to you," Vaike scoffed as Robin got out of the pool and grabbed a towel.
"Alright, you've given me plenty to think about after all; mostly about how much I'll miss these chats after you're assigned to the initial gate charge, but a little about what to do next. Thank you for joining me today, but if you'll excuse me, my hands are in agony and you two aren't particularly relaxing."
"Remember, Tharja first!" Vaike called after him, "The order matters!"
Lucina stood.
"Whoa-you can't talk to him now!" Severa hissed, grabbing her arm. "He'll know you were eavesdropping!"
"And that it was all your idea and we tried to stop you but you were mad with desire!" Cynthia breathed, eyes wide.
Lucina blinked, looking at them. She removed her arm from Severa's grasp and waded through the pool. "I'll see you back at the house."
"W-wait! There's so much to unpack!" Cynthia thought aloud, holding her hands up to her cheeks, "Tharja blackmailing him, but he's so in love with you it hurts! And he doesn't want to hurt you, so he's going to throw away dozens if not millions of lives to preserve his blursed chastity, and… Wait no I don't like this. Am I one of the billions that will be sacrificed in the battle?"
"Er… I don't know how I feel about this," Severa admitted, not looking at Lucina who'd stopped at the water's edge. "I want him to be a good guy for you, but… I can see where Gaius is coming from. Sieges aren't pretty."
"What are you going to do, sis?" Cynthia called, moving towards her and stopping beside Severa. "I know you want to protect people but… Is this really okay?"
The fountain emptied itself into the pool and clunked back into place as rain began to fall harder, cutting through the steam around them.
Lucina turned, and neither knew what to make of the soft, calm smile she gave them.
"I'll see you back at the house."
She stepped out of the pool, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself as she made towards the building.
The image of stoicism was one cultivated after years of practice, exercising self control in situations of hardship that required a calm presence to reassure others. Perhaps a small part of the act had bled into her personality, but Lucina was still human, and it took every ounce of discipline she held to maintain composure after the roller coaster of emotions the day had been.
She entered the main hall where the different baths branched from, looking towards the direction of the men's pool. Footsteps could be heard ahead she stepped forward, before she heard a second set, and a third. Timed, measured, boots.
Soldiers.
Of all the times… She doubled back in the opposite direction when a hand came from behind a door, yanking her into a darkened changing room just as soldiers rounded the corner ahead.
Gerome slid the door closed quietly, flush against the wall as the soldiers passed. Lucina looked past him, then finally saw him as the marching faded away.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking him up and down. He too wore only a towel.
"I could ask you the same. Why did you stray from the safe house? It's not safe until we defeat the Valmese."
"I don't need you to protect me," she whispered, soldiers returning to stand just outside their door.
"Just to keep you out of Valmese prison," he growled, slowly sliding the door a few centimeters closed.
As he strained to carefully move the heavy wood as quietly as possible, the sliver of light coming in from the hall lanterns fell across Gerome's torso, catching on scars and tightly bound muscle. Lucina stared, eyes traveling up the hardened body. A roadmap of blood shed, the litany of their time together.
She hated it. It was being back in their time, when the pains of hunger meant it was a painless day, and a day without death was a holiday. Every inch of Gerome's body was a testament to their past, and a world she wanted nothing more than to forget.
"Do I disgust you?" Gerome muttered with a wry smile, still watching outside. "There was a time when you looked at me very differently."
Lucina looked away, feeling horrible. It wasn't his fault. Many of those scars were earned by her side.
"I came for you," he spoke suddenly, eyes focused outside but not looking. "I wanted… I needed to talk to you. I thought finding you would be… Different."
He looked back at her.
"What changed?"
"Everything," she answered quietly, now watching the soldiers outside as an excuse to not make eye contact. "That's why we're here."
"Between us, and..."
Lucina looked at him now. His eyes sought answers in hers, seeking closure for answers he'd never gotten. She knew how much it took to hurt Gerome. She didn't know how badly she'd done so, that he'd gone to others seeking solace.
"We weren't good for each other," she answered, already knowing he wouldn't be content with that.
"Was I so terrible?"
"Not at all," she spoke truthfully, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You were a good man, Gerome. But I wasn't in love with you, as much as I tried to be."
"I suppose the past did give you a few more options."
"We had no way of knowing if we'd ever see each other again, even had we'd stayed..." Lucina narrowed her gaze, "What do you mean?"
"You seem to be getting along fine, now," he commented, eyes hardening. "Your pledge to sacrifice personal relationships didn't extend to the enemy, I take."
"Are we talking about us, or Robin?" Lucina asked bluntly, seeing the direction this was taking. Even he seemed surprised at having his topic headed off, but he recovered quickly.
"We're talking about you. You tell me we ended our involvement because you couldn't bring yourself to love, and I trusted your judgment. In Ferox you were as determined as I was to bring this chapter in history to a close, and I believed you. Now you shield the enemy with promises of redemption and I don't know what to think. What has he become to you?"
It was Lucina's turn to be caught off-guard. "He's… Precious to me."
"In a way I wasn't," he concluded.
She paused, staring at him. "We're not talking about changing the past. You're jealous."
"I'm worried, about you, and our mission! The entire reason we came back!"
"Mission parameters change, and I'm not sorry. I'm tired of killing people, Gerome," Lucina grimaced, voice rising to match his tone. "I didn't plan for this to happen-!"
"What, exactly?"
"What?" Lucina asked, unfooted by Gerome's sudden calmness.
"You didn't plan for what to happen?"
"You want me to say it."
"I want you to say the reason our future hasn't been guaranteed yet. The reason we're right here, in this bathhouse, right now."
"No. You want me to say that I love Robin, and not you," Lucina cut to the chase, and knowing she'd struck home upon seeing him stunned, mouth open but words failing him. Now she understood Robin's position a little better. Having someone love you unrequitedly was an awful place to be. The guilt far outweighed the flattery.
She knew what she had to do, the conversation she needed to have with Robin. Even so, it didn't magically make her begin to love Gerome. Her heart would always be with the man she loved, even if...
He closed his mouth and looked away, running a hand through his hair, for the first time ever seeming uncharacteristically ashamed.
"I think the soldiers have moved on," he commented, looking past the door. Clearly having been confronted with his true feelings was just as uncomfortable for him, and Lucina knew the desire to run and hide well.
"Wait," she murmured, stepping closer as he began opening the door. He turned in time for her to embrace him, standing ramrod stiff as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I've known you longer than anyone else. You will always be my comrade, and I hope in time you remember me as such. I can't be your partner, but I will always be your oldest friend."
He loosened, arm coming around to hold her lightly. "I'll… do my best."
Fabric rustled and he lurched suddenly, Lucina leaning back to catch him holding his slipping towel. "S-sorry, that was an acc-"
The door behind him slid open, Lucina's arms still around Gerome holding a loose towel between them, his bare backside revealed to Robin who stood in silence.
"That's…" Robin sighed, raising his eyebrows in acceptance, "Fair."
He closed the door as Lucina thrust Gerome away, holding her own towel up as she tore the door open.
"Robin!" she called, red-faced as she made after him, "W-wait!"
"I was just looking for a place to hide and think, I didn't mean to intrude," he explained while checking behind a curtain, "And I really can't be mad, it probably looked like I was doing the same thing, even though my towel was on, and I was actively trying to get away‒!"
He was wheeled around before an audible slap echoed down the hall.
Robin stared into space, cheek white from the impact. He flexed his jaw, flesh quickly reddening as blood returned to the area. "I… Accept your apology?"
"That wasn't an apology," Lucina panted, free hand flexing. She'd never slapped anyone before and couldn't recommend it as a combat technique. "That was for thinking I would ever do that to you."
"Oh, I‒ Oh." It was Robin's turn to blush as her words sunk in, and she mirrored his surprised expression.
"Did you hear that?" a muffled gruff voice called from one of the rooms ahead and Robin pulled Lucina towards the nearest bath.
"They're checking each bath?" Lucina hissed as they moved through the short hall to the pool enclosure.
"Yeah, so stop looking so foreign!" Robin instructed, dragging her by the hand outside.
Thankfully the pool was empty, locals clearly not interested in visiting the springs on rainy days. It was similar in appearance to the women's bath, but no stones or grass to hide behind. Robin shared a look with her, evidently reaching the same conclusion.
"Just married," he uttered, and she nodded.
He pulled her towards the pool before she objected, "Wait‒wait! There aren't any towels!"
"I‒er…" Robin obviously knew what that meant but didn't want it to distract them from the situation. "Okay you get in, I won't look."
"You'd better not," she warned as she stripped the one she was wearing, throwing it on a stool and stepping into the water. After the cold floors and being out in the air, slipping into the warm bath sent chills up her legs. She sank to her knees, lowering herself so only her head was exposed, and turned to face him, "Okay."
Voices could be heard in the short hall and Robin gestured frantically.
She didn't move.
"Lucina, do you mind?!"
She leaned forward in the water, resting her chin on her hands.
"This is‒" Robin bit his lip and shook his head at her poor grasp of playful timing. It was either parading before her naked now, or trying to dry himself with a wet towel later. Unfortunately for her he'd already given up on being dry today. He jumped into the water beside her and she recoiled from the splash.
The water settled up to their necks just as boots entered the enclosure.
"Good afternoon, city guard," Robin greeted, Lucina noting the military plumage. He stiffened as she drew behind him, hands coming over his shoulders, careful to leave some space between their torsos.
"Military," the leader corrected, looking around the pool, "Sweeping for insurrectionists."
"Ah, we're foreigners," Lucina apologized for Robin's mistake and saw the accompanying retinue watching her. She dipped behind Robin shyly and they averted their gazes when they realized they'd been caught.
"What is your purpose in Valm?" the captain directed at Robin, eyes deliberately locked on his face.
"Honeymoon," they answered simultaneously.
He nodded slowly, watching them. His eyes moved to the discarded towel, and Robin casually reached up with his right hand to cover Lucina's left, giving her ring finger a gentle squeeze. She squeezed back, and the captain looked back to them. He sniffed, evidently convinced.
"Not part of the…" he glanced back to his comrades, "Circus?"
At Robin's look of confusion he explained, "Several other foreigners are visiting the baths today. Both stated they were part of a traveling circus troupe."
"There's a circus in town," Lucina repeated, squeezing Robin's shoulder with her free hand, "We should see it!"
"If we can manage to leave the hotel room," he muttered, grinning back and nuzzling her before realizing the soldiers were there. "She only agreed to the hot springs because we were supposed to have… Privacy?"
He raised his eyebrows hintingly, imploring them to leave.
"You're aware the city will come under attack tomorrow?" the captain asked, unfazed.
"We don't really follow politics," Robin confessed, grinning in embarrassment before looking serious, "Are you saying the pools will be closed?"
The man sighed, finally understanding he was dealing with idiots. "Leave Mila tonight. You'll have a much longer honeymoon elsewhere."
The soldiers departed, and the area became silent. Neither of them moved. It was neither uncomfortable nor relaxing. Robin exhaled, grinning as he turned to glance over his shoulder before she pushed his head forward.
"I was just going to say that you got quick."
"You got nervous."
"Are you projecting?"
"Are you deflecting?"
"I'm being polite!"
"And I'm making fun of you!"
"And you're…not..." She waited for him to return the ball to her court, slowly smiling as the seconds ticked. "Dammit."
"I had more."
"Yeah well…" Robin cleared his throat, tilting his head. "I'm not thinking too straight. We're in a bath together, inches apart, with only my towel between us."
She said nothing at that, and was sure he could sense the heat from her face against his neck. He grinned, taking her hands and gently lifting so he could turn around before she dug her fingers into his collar.
"Nope."
"It's only fair," he argued, grinning. "You see me."
"Yes."
"So I should see‒"
"Nope."
He sighed in playful resignation and her fingers relaxed, but didn't leave his shoulders. She didn't move, and the two sat in silence. She couldn't tell if it was awkward or not, if she wanted it to be awkward or not, what either could mean, and she was afraid motion would swing the pendulum one way or the other. But she couldn't run from the conversation forever. They needed to talk, but first she needed to explain.
She felt his shoulders rise as she took a deep breath, and they spoke simultaneously.
"What you saw‒!"
"It wasn't what it‒!"
They stopped at the same time, and she gently squeezed, go ahead.
"What you saw with Tharja, it wasn't… I wasn't‒ I would never do that to you."
"I know," she assured him, and his other hand came up to rest over hers. "She attacked you."
"I don't know if 'attacked' is the right w-ord but she was very aggressive a-and unavoidable yes!" Robin spoke quickly as her fingers dug into his collar again. As her hands relaxed so did his muscles, and she could feel his tension fade. He'd said everything that was needed between them.
He wasn't waiting for her explanation. He'd been worried she'd thought less of him, and her interrupted half-sentence had been enough to put him at ease. He trusted her, knew her. He knew her better than anyone else did. Better than anyone else ever would. He was the only one who treated her as a human, when everyone else saw only a killer.
Robin sat straighter when he felt her cheek against his back. Her hands slid to rest on top of his shoulders, forearms separating them as she sat on her hip.
"It was just a hug," she muttered, "I've known Gerome my whole life, and he was hurting. I wanted to remind him we were still friends, the towel just…"
"Yeah, that sounds like about the time I would walk in on a given situation." Robin shifted before sighing, "I'm sorry I had the wrong idea."
"Good. You're the only..." she squeezed him, heart pounding as she froze. It didn't matter if it was true. She couldn't tell him that, then ask him to…
His hand reached to rest on her fingers, and she felt a sense of warm calm seep into her. Like slipping back into the bath they were sitting in. She took another deep breath, rising from his back and watching him.
"I heard about… Tharja's offer."
Robin stiffened. "She told you about that?! What is wrong with‒?"
"I want you to do it."
Robin tried to turn but she refused him again, now for a different reason. Her shoulders shook as she tried to contain the multitude of emotions coursing through her, and she knew if she saw his face she would lose the resolve it took to reach the right decision.
"I don't want to do it," he stated flatly.
"This will save lives, won't it? Maybe our friends' lives, my father's life. Didn't you vow you would do whatever it took to protect him?"
"I also vowed I would do whatever it took to make you happy."
"This would…" she couldn't even finish the lie, and Robin shook his head.
"Not make anyone happy," he finished, looking over his shoulder, "Tharja's insane."
"And we're selfish," she argued, heart panging as she spoke the words she didn't want to speak. "After all this is done, if I'm gone, my existence erased… What would it be for? All the people who will have died, for no reason."
This was the greater good, by far. The childlike hope of her happy ending was a naive candle before the hurricane of reality that was their situation. Actual lives, with friends, and families, and futures were going to be lost, for the sake of her. A bloodsoaked sinner who didn't belong in this time, so she could have a chance at something she never deserved. She would never let that happen. Nor could she strip Robin of a future she may never give him.
She already knew he'd never ask the unthinkable. He was far too good to do that. It was easy to say she'd consider it if he did, but truthfully she didn't know if she could accept him raising a child that wasn't hers. Something primitive fought the notion, the want to be his only, as he was hers.
Then she bitterly remembered the entirety of that trail of thought rested on her being around.
Lucina hated the idea of emotionally parting from the man who meant so much to her. The only one who understood her, believed in her following mistake after mistake. She already knew men like him existed once in a life- and she had to travel to another to find one. There would be no replacement for Robin. But that made it that much more important for her to protect him.
Perhaps she was selfish, but at least she could see how much pain she'd put him through, if this went any further. Every step a relationship climbed was one more someone fell down when it ended.
The logical decision was clear. Save lives, and perhaps in doing so, earn him clemency amongst her comrades. He would never want for anything with Tharja in his life, she'd proven herself dedicated beyond fanaticism. And if she managed to survive everything, and wasn't erased, she'd survive this, too. What was one more loss, she tried to convince herself.
"Lucina…" he uttered, drawing her back to the present with a chuckle, "You're starting to scare me."
"You're the tactician; if I can figure this one out, I'm sure you've already done so." She took another shuddering breath, clenching a tear from her eye. She drew close to gently kiss the back of his neck.
"Just… Know you'll always hold my heart, Robin. Whatever happens, the time I spent with you was the happiest in my life."
Lucina mentally rallied, and stood. She shook her head, mane of wet hair sticking to her back, rainfall masking her tears. Water cascaded down her slim form, but now she'd laid her soul bare, her body hardly seemed revealing. Robin was staring ahead, too stunned to speak.
She entertained an immature moment of stealing one last, real kiss from him. Something to remember them by, that she could treasure for her remaining days. But she knew she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough; too selfish, too greedy, too much in love. It took every twist of rationalization and hardheaded conviction to arrive at the solution she did, and if a feather landed on the other side of the scales, they would be undone. After his confession in the adjacent pool earlier… She knew if their lips met now her fate would be sealed: forever at his side.
She shook her head again, shaking such notions. This was hard enough without amusing vagrant conditionals.
Lucina stepped past him, knowing he was watching her. She was actually happy to feel his gaze, expecting shyness. Instead she felt numb accompany the cold air. Her mind went blank, fear of everything she knew to be true clashing with the fear of everything she'd learned since coming to this time. Her feet were guiding her based on a prior destination; a preprogrammed failsafe to solidify her decision. She herself wasn't able to think straight anymore, focusing on the cold rain, warm water running past her knees, smooth stones underfoot.
A new sensation intruded into her bubble, a clasp of warmth around her wrist, stopping her progress. Her feet protested, not knowing where they were going but that 'backwards' was the wrong direction. Her heart pounded painfully against her chest, hoping and praying 'forwards' would be overruled. Her brain entered panic-mode, competing sources of motivation entering gridlock.
The grip on the wrist tightened, pulling harder. She turned in time to register him stepping closer, closing their distance; instinctively knowing what it would mean, bringing her hands up to stop him. To hold true to the decision she agonized over. To promise him a future she couldn't.
For the first time, he was faster.
His lips pressed to hers, heat from his body staving off the cold rain. His presence was all she could feel now, and the arms that had come up to resist him rested against his shoulders. His hands came across her naked back, drawing her tight as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, and in it she felt him.
She felt all of him, like they were two puzzle pieces finally completing the same image. She thought she'd known what was best for them, for him, but she hadn't known what he felt. Hearing his words earlier didn't equate to understanding, they paled in comparison to his true yearning. His need for her, so desperate, made this a breath of air after minutes of suffocation. She wasn't his reason for this fighting‒ she was his reason for living, as he'd become hers.
Lucina closed her eyes, heart pounding painfully hard as every inch of her tingled with rising euphoria. The rain fell around them, unfelt as they held one another in a bare embrace.
Mind catching up to her body, Lucina realized what was happening, and separated. Robin met her wide-eyed stare, catching his breath.
"I-I'm sorry, I just‒!" He panted, now frowning, "I didn't think I'd actually… Someone always interrupts‒!"
She pushed him backwards as she pressed her mouth to his again. He stumbled to a sitting position with her mounting him, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck. His lips parted hers and she took the invitation to delve deeper‒ feel more of him. She needed him to know how much she needed him.
Robin inhaled sharply through his nose as he gripped her hips, following her curves up her back, squeezing her so tightly as though afraid to let go.
So this was her fate. She couldn't fight it anymore, she'd already done everything to defy it, avert it, delay it‒ but now she was done. Perhaps it was weakness, human, but she'd never felt more alive. This was one fate she would submit to, gladly. The fate she made with him, whatever lay ahead.
She broke the kiss, forehead pressing to his, and their gaze met. His normally cool grey eyes were smoldering, reason replaced by desire. She understood the feeling well, unknown as a stranger yet familiar as instinct.
Her hand slipped into the water and fumbled with his towel, body shifting so she could pull it free. It floated beside them, and their eyes locked. Her face was red, part embarrassment, part excitement. She leaned forward, holding his head beside hers.
"Your mind, and your heart, belong only to me," she whispered, closing her eyes in acceptance. It wasn't a request, merely a statement of what was.
His arms came up her back and he buried his face in her neck. "Lucina… I don't think I can go through‒!"
She drew back, silencing him with a soft, reassuring smile. A silent vow of eternal devotion, regardless of what may come. The teachings of the future-past were replaced: whatever lay ahead. They would overcome it, together.
Lucina glanced down, and Robin swallowed hard as his hold on her unconsciously tightened. She nodded, a trembling hand sliding down the front of his chest, and the door to the enclosure opened.
She automatically threw herself against him, hiding her face in his neck as he scrambled for the floating towel and throwing it over her head. He stared at the newcomer, mouth open.
"Lon'qu, I am literally going to behead you."
"Robin and… I'm going to assume Lucina, get back to the safe house," he called, throwing the spare towel at them. He wore two swords on his belt, combat vest visible under his usual attire.
"Can it wait twenty or thirty‒?"
"No."
"Seconds?" Robin finished. Lucina drew back to look at him. "Or maybe one minute?"
"No, Robin," Lon'qu sighed, looking sidelong at him. "Priority target. The scorpio-ballistae factory is up and running again, and we're all that's left. So put your pants on, and go back to the house for the briefing. I have to round up the others."
Lon'qu left, and Robin stared after him. "Every… Time..."
Lucina appraised him, and brought his face forward. She leaned forward for a kiss. After several seconds they parted, and she held her forehead to his.
"I don't know how much of that we have together… But if you're not going to think about it, then I won't either."
Robin nodded, holding her closer.
"I'm going to make every second we have together count," she promised, wrapping her arms around him.
He nodded, matching her hushed tone to confess, "I'm pretty much going to agree with anything you say when we're this close and naked."
Lucina laughed, moving in for another kiss. "Good."